To Love and Protect
by The Dark Knight's Princess
Summary: AU Fic: Casey Novak needed a mini vacation and going on her annual camping trip with her two best friends was just what she needed. She's heard the rumors about strange sightings in the woods, but as she's never come across any herself, she chalks it up to being a myth. What happens when she finds herself getting first hand experience as to what exactly these myth's are about.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:First off, Happy Thanksgiving!**

**So…for some odd reason, my supernatural story idea and need tends to peak around the holiday season. It's so strange but every year around this time I feel almost compelled to write some story regarding wolves or vampires, or what not. My last story I do believe was 'Secrets That We Keep' and as my writing has gradually improved since then so I'm hoping this story will be even more excited than that. **

**In regards to the others, don't worry, I haven't forgotten anything and I'll get to it when my muse wants me to. She has a mind of her own, that muse. **

**Sorry I've been MIA for a little while. I recently spent some vacation time with a very special someone and I'm just getting back from that. **

**Anyhow, enough of my rambling, hope you all enjoy this ride. **

**Disclaimer: Any unoriginal character that is used in this work does not belong to me. **

Abigail Carmichael scowls in disdain, the spot from her flashlight slightly shaking against the ground as her hands tremble from the cold. She heaves an exaggerated sigh, her cheeks puffing out in the process as the action admits a small cloud of air, visualizing her breath in the near night.

"Fucking outdoors…making me look for goddamn firewood in the middle of goddamn nowhere…" she grumbles, her eyes scanning the ground for any useful yet manageable piece of wood that she can take back to camp for the fire. So far she has only gathered a measly set of twigs that she know won't do any good.

The leaves underneath the snow covered ground crunch underneath her boots as she pauses and stoops over to pick up a small stack of twigs that only slightly aid to her pitiful collection. "Better than nothing…" she reasons with a shrug, standing up straight only to let out a small frightened squeak when she comes face to face with a foreign object that she soon recognizes as a low hanging branch.

"Damn city's done went and turned me soft." She mutters, shaking her head and chuckling slightly at her petty fright before she reaches up and begins attempting to break off a more smaller part of the branch. A victorious sound escapes her lips, only for it to be muffled by a small pile of snow dropping onto her head from the disturbance of the tree. Thank god for her beanie and thank god even more for there not being anyone around to witness her struggle in the woods.

Adding the baby tree branch to her collection, Abbie decides that she's got enough for her to head back to camp. If this isn't enough then the fire is just going to have to make due with what it's got because it's far too cold to be hunting for wood in the dark not to mention, alone. At least, that's what Abbie thinks.

Just as she is about to turn around to head back, she hears the feint noise of a twig snapping which causes her to pause. Listening intently, she looks around, attempting to pick up on any kind of noise that may be around. After a few seconds, she shrugs it off as nothing and is about to take her first step when she hears the twig again.

"Damnit, Carmichael, you're freaking yourself out." she grumbles, shaking her head once more as she sets off back to camp. She has taken about ten steps forward when the snapping is heard a third time, followed by what she swears is a low growl. "What the hell?"

Shinning her flashlight around, Abbie tries to ignore the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. She shines her light past a stock of trees, flickering back immediately when she is met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

"Shit!" she hisses loudly, her hands shaking violently as the growling continue while the owner of the eyes slowly steps out into the clearing. Abbie gulps and takes a step back only to trip over a tree root and fall onto her bottom, while her eyes taken in the appearance of the brownish colored wolf, eyeing her with intensity.

About a million and one thoughts run through Abbie's brain as she attempts to figure out whether or not she's supposed to run in a situation like this. She remembers reading something about what to do in a bear sighting but she isn't sure if the same thing applies to wolves which are probably much faster than bears are anyway.

The wolf continues to watch the brunette intently, digging it's pause into the snowy ground as it's lips curl back to revel a set of long pointy teeth. It takes a half step towards the terrified human, testing her to see if she's smart enough to run. An almost smirk like expression crosses the wolf's face when it is reward with a small shriek. A growl escapes it's lips as it takes one full step forward only to growl once more when the human scrambles to her feet and takes off into a full on sprint, twigs and logs forgotten.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Abbie repeats, not giving a damn that she forgot her twigs and her flashlight. She's pretty sure she knows the way back and even if she doesn't, she hopes that she has enough energy to out run the furry monster. "Oh goddamn it! Why do these types of things always happen to me!?"

The thudding sound of boots against the ground only spur the wolf forward, though it doesn't make any motion to move into the attack position. It wants to give the human a good scare for a bit before really getting down to business. It's not every day a foolish human wanders into the woods alone at night.

It watches in slight amusement as the human scrambles over a fallen tree, something that it pounces over with ease, landing onto the snow ground with a satisfying thud. Leaves and twigs snap repeatedly underneath it's pause as it continues its chase; a chase that is going to be successful by the end of the night.

Allowing the human to struggle over yet another fallen tree, the wolf pounces atop of the trunk, planting its hind legs into the bark as it prepares to pounce once again, closing the distance between it and the human. Just as it pounces, a great forces strikes it midair, sending it slamming against a tree in the opposite direction. It snarls, showing its teeth and attempting to wiggle free, only to be met with a much greater snarl and a paw firmly pinning its head to the ground.

Abbie, who is by now a blubbering mess, practically dives through the familiar clearing and skids back in to camp, her snow drift putting out what was the beginning of what looked like what was going to be a successful fire.

"Oh, Abbie, c'mon! It took me forever to get that started." Casey Novak exclaims, putting down her fire starting tools in defeat as she sends her best friend a glare.

"The thing, that-that thing!" Abbie squeaks, scrambling to her feet as she all but climbs into Olivia Benson's lap, earning a grunt of disgust from the woman in question. "That thing tried to kill me! It was gonna eat my beautiful face!"

"What thing? And where's the firewood?" Casey questions, standing up to peer in the general direction that she had seen Abbie run from.

"That big ass wolf! God it was fucking huge!" Abbie exclaims, scooting further into Liv's lap as she wraps her arms around her head. "I dropped all the twigs when it chased me through the woods."

"Way to go Tex…" Liv grumbles, practically prying the southerner off of her before letting her fall to the ground.

"Way to go?!" Abbie screeches, standing up and pointing to the general direction of the woods. "That big ass monster just had me run for my life and you're worried about a pile of freaking twigs!? What if it had eaten me?!"

"Then maybe it could've brought us the wood…"

"Oh now Benson has jokes? Listen here you little-"

"Stop it!" Casey exclaims, snapping between the two. She takes a deep breath and pinches her noise before turning towards Abbie. "Abbie, are you sure what you saw was a wolf? There aren't supposed to be any wolves out here. Bears maybe, coyotes maybe, but no wolves."

Rolling her eyes, Abbie takes off her beanie and throws it to the ground in frustration. "I swear on my Mama's life that what just had me running like a headless chicken was a wolf! It was the biggest wolf I've ever seen. Granted, it was the only wolf I've ever seen but I'm sure that if I had seen one before now, this one would be the biggest!"

There is a small silence as Casey and Olivia share a look before Liv is the one who sighs and speaks up first. "Okay Abbie, say that you did see a wolf. The main point here is that there isn't any firewood and if there isn't any firewood there's no fire. And if there is no fire that means we all freeze out here and then the wolves will be having 'us-cicles' for dinner..."

"Abbs, where'd the wolf go?" Casey asks curiously, she too knows fairly well that there aren't any wolves in these woods. At least, there shouldn't be any wolves in these woods. She's just asking for her own peace of mind; better safe than sorry right?

"No idea." Abbie responds, shaking her head tiredly. "I was out there collecting some wood like you guys said and when I started to head back, I shined my light and found the two scariest pair of eyes looking back at me. Then I started running, because what else was I gonna do? I heard it chasing me because it was stepping on everything and right when I got here, I heard a thud, a bunch of snarling and barking and it was gone. And to think I was this close to being a chew toy…"

"Yeah, if the wolf was into the whiskey and tobacco flavor." Olivia snorts, barking out a laugh at her own joke only to scowl when she is met face first with a wad of snow. She scoops some snow into her hands and flings it in Abbie's general direction only for the brunette to duck out of the way at the last minute for the slush to hit Casey square in the head.

"You two…" Casey grumbles, shudder as the snow seeps down into her shirt. Honestly, a camping trip with her two best friends was most definitely not supposed to turn in to a comedy circus. "Look, I've got the fire restarted. Let's just have some dinner and get some sleep."

"But what about the…"

"There aren't any wolves out here…"

"Fine." Abbie relents, folding her arms tightly, partly because of the cold but the other part being her childlike defiance. "But if there are any wolves, I saw we offer em Liv to eat. I'm sure they prefer the butch detective flavor over mine any day."

* * *

><p>The loud banging of the door causes the blonde napping cross the couch to startle. She sits up, just in time to see a glaring brunette stalk through the living room with a small but visible red scratch across the side of her cheek. Though she knows that the wound will heal within a matter of minutes she can't help but be concerned by what caused it.<p>

"What happened to you?" Serena Southerlyn asks with pure curiosity, only for a small smirk to tug at her lips a few seconds later. "Get whacked with a tree branch again?"

Kim Greylek's grown curls into a full out snarl as she flips the blonde off and rolls her eyes. "No. Your alpha just decided it was time for heroics and ruin my late night snack."

"If I'm her alpha then clearly I am your alpha too."A cold and stern voice states with a small hint of dry humor as a tall blonde strides into the room, smirk firmly in place. "Unless of course, you'd like to challenge that?"

Kim is just itching for a response, but she knows better and simply shakes her head as she rolls her eyes once more. "It doesn't matter. You didn't have to do what you did…it's not like I was gonna eat her…"

"Kim you were chasing and snarling, what was I supposed to think?" Alex Cabot responds firmly, her smile having faded.

"I just wanted to scare her…maybe get a little nibble in, but not enough to cause any lasting damage."

"Kim it's wrong and you know that. The humans are allies."

"Yet they shoot at us the first chance they get." Kim snorts, shaking her head in response. "Or did you forget what happened to your mother?"

The silence is heavy, and Serena has about three seconds to react before she finds herself diving in between the two women, utilizing every last bit over her strength to keep them apart. "Stop it!" she exclaims, grunting as she plants her feet firmer on the ground to keep from budging. "You two always do this and frankly, it's starting to get annoying. So what Kim chased the human, it's not like any harm was done."

"This time." Alex all but growls, snatching away as she is still reeling from the comment about her mother. "You have not been raised to act like barbarians. You will respect my decisions. Just try defying me again and see if you come out with just a scratch on your face."

Kim's hand involuntarily travels to the now healed scratch that was on her cheek. She and Serena watch in silence as Alex storms past them without another word, retreating out the back door of their cabin.

"You really shouldn't have said what you did about her mother." Serena says quietly, breaking the heavy silence after a few moments. "You know she's only trying to be the woman Alice raised her to be."

"And I make a valiant point." Kim retorts. "Alice is dead because of the humans. How are we supposed to see them as allies after that?"

Serena sees Kim's point and her shoulders slump as she sighs heavily. "I know…but Alex is in charge, and we have to listen to her and respect her decisions."

"I know…" Kim responds shaking her head as she folds her arms tightly. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

**Hope you guys like this little intro chapter. Things will start to get pretty interesting next chapter. Leave your thoughts!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Glad you guys have taken a brisk liking to this story. That always means a lot. Enjoy. **

Not having gotten any sleep the previous night, Casey finds herself awakening a little earlier than everyone else as she looks over to find her two friends still curled into their beds inside their respective tents. Sighing quietly, she drags a hand through her slightly disheveled hair and shuffles out of her sleep wrap before crawling out of her tent.

Despite waking up earlier than the other two, she notices that the sun is still continuing its high climb towards the sky. This is one of the moment's Casey appreciates in nature. It's not every day back home that she can stop and take a look at the sunrise or it's quiet enough for her to hear the birds chirping in the trees. Living in the city, especially New York of all places, her mornings consist of blaring car horns, revving mufflers, and people shouting at this that and the other. She appreciates the time she gets to just relax.

Deciding to go for a stroll, Casey shrugs on her jacket and casts her sleeping friends one last look before she heads off through the woods. She's not practically worried about Abbie's so called 'wolf' encounter from the night before. The park ranger had informed them with strong confidence that the only thing living up there would be bears and those are on hibernation in this time of the year.

"I always wondered when she'd finally crack." Casey mutters allowed, shaking her head as a small laugh escapes her lips. If anyone would know what would be living in these woods it would be the park rangers and if they didn't mention anything about wolves, then there certainly aren't any wolves around. Perhaps what Abbie was a bear she somehow managed to disturb from its annual slumber; she wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened.

Casey's mind then allows her to wander back to her life back at home. She is suddenly overcome with a small patch of sadness from her most recent break up with her girlfriend Lauren. It wasn't anything bad, but Lauren had simply gotten a job offer in Spain and it wasn't an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. She had pleaded for hours on end for Casey to go with her, but Casey felt like she just couldn't drop her life and move halfway around the world. It was illogical and both she and Lauren realized that so they decided to part on friendly terms, but that didn't prevent the feeling of heartbreak like Casey had hoped.

Sighing quietly, she continues to shuffle through the woods, glancing over her shoulder every now and then to make sure that she hasn't veered off of her path back to her campsite. Just as she turns around, she swears she hears the sound of several twigs snapping. Pausing briefly, she glances around, squinting against the sunlight to see if she can spot anything, but all she hears is the various snapping as if something is closing in after her.

Casey panics and breaks into a brisk sprint, attempting to put as much distance as possible between her and whatever the hell it is that she heard behind her. Her heart thumps loudly in her chest as she glances over her shoulder briefly to see if she can spot anything only to be met with the familiar sight of woods. She is so focused on running and looking back that she doesn't notice the change in terrain until she slips and skids across a patch of ice.

Gathering her bearings, she takes several deep breaths and looks around only to realize that the 'patch of ice' she slipped on is a frozen lake. Casey groans quietly as she gets to her feet as slowly as possible, glancing around the frozen area for a way off only to find that areas of dry ground are all equidistant.

"Okay Novak, you got this. Remember what Dad taught you about frozen lakes." She murmurs, as she slowly attempts to shuffle toward land. "Don't panic because if you panic the ice will…crack."

The feint sound of ice cracking can be heard underneath her feet and as Casey takes another step, she braces herself for impact as the ice caves in, immediately sucking her beneath the ice into the frozen waters below and sending her body into immediate shock.

* * *

><p>Alex scowls at the ground as she continues her trek through the woods, leaves and twigs crunching mercifully underneath her weight. Her senses pick up on the noises, scents and sights around her simultaneously and she shakes her head to get a clear head for a brief moment.<p>

A snarl escapes her lips as her mind retracts back to the last thing Kim said to her in regards to her mother. Her mother always taught her to be friendly and remorseful towards all aspects of life, humans included. Why can't anyone else understand that? Attacking for no reason at all doesn't make them any better than the real killers that haunt the earth. The last thing Alex wants is for her pack to be labeled a group of cold blooded killers.

_ Despite having phased, the small smile is visible on Alice's face as she watches her pup with genuine amusement. She watches as her growing young is playfully pouncing after a colorful butterfly fluttering about in the breeze._

_ "Come, Alexandra." The elder wolf murmurs calmly nudging her pup with her nose to move ahead. "We're not finished yet." _

_ "Why do you have to go on these walks, Anya?" Alex responds excitedly, playfully weaving through her mother's legs as she proceeds to walk. She skids to a halt when Alice casts her a slightly firm look and she ducks her head in silent apology, though still waiting for the answer to her question. _

_ "Because, Alexandra, we must make sure that there are no threats to our pack before we call an end to this day." Alice answers gently. "It is my duty to make sure the area is safe and one day, when the spirits claim me and I am gone from this world, it will be your job to do so." _

_ At this, Alex pouts at the idea of having to worry about another people and not having any time for play. She's sure that she wouldn't have any time to play with Kim and Serena if she had to worry about walking around making sure there was no one around. Not to mention, it sounds boring. _

_ "Is that why you brought me, Anya?" Alex questions, her short attention span having already carried her elsewhere despite the fact that she has just asked a question. Hearing her mother begin to talk once more, Alex once again finds the butterfly that she was chasing from before._

_ Determined this time, Alex sets her full attention on the colorful inset, crouching down just like her mother showed her before pouncing forward, only to land in a patch of flowers as her 'prey' flutters away. _

_ "Come back." The small pup half whines, a determined frown setting upon her face as she scampers off after the butterfly, determined to get a closer look at it. Spotting the butterfly resting on a rock in the small clearing, Alex crouches down once again, peering at the insect through the grass. She waits a few moments before pouncing once again, landing on the rock just after the butterfly manages it's escape. _

_ Sighing quietly, Alex hangs her head and looks around only to find herself separated from her mother. "Anya?" she whimpers, suddenly frightened by being in the woods alone. Just as she is about to call out to her mother once again, she hears a loud bang that echoes through the woods that sends several flocks of birds scattering from the tree tops. _

_ The familiar sound of a gunshot causes Alice to freeze in her tracks. Her ears go rigid and the hair on the back of her neck flares up as she too realizations that Alex has disappeared. "Alexandra!" the elder wolf cries, her senses squandering for any familiar sound that will alert her to her pup's whereabouts. "Alexandra, where are you!" _

_ Alex ducks back into the grass as she spots several tall men, each carrying guns. Her heart pounds heavily against her chest as they begin to advance on her. She watches as they murmur something to each other before one of them loads his rifle and raises it towards her. Just as she is sure he is about to pull the trigger, she hears the familiarity of her mother's howl._

_ Snarling, Alice springs in front her pup, taking the hunters off guard for a split second before she charges one of them, instantly tearing him apart while the others attempt to run. Blood covers her fur as she spits the man's remains from her mouth. _

_ One of the hunters manages to crawl away, scrambling to his rifle as he loads it quickly, the clicking noise of the chamber grabbing the wolf's attention. Just as she begins to quickly advance on him, he raises his gun just as she pounces and fires. _

_ Alex watches in horror as her mother charges the man but then immediately slumps to the ground after the loud bang. "Anya!" she screeches, involuntarily moving to run to her other before she remembers the hunter. Just as he smirks and raises his gun again, there is a pair of loud howls, causing him to take his attention off of the pup. _

_ "Come, Alexandra, quickly." Alex recognizes the voice of Serena's mother, Lillian before she finds herself gently scooped into the elder wolf's mouth. She just barely glances back to see a larger black wolf, Kim's father, take out the very last hunter before tending to her mother's motionless form. _

_ Back at their cabin village, with Lillian's aid, Alex phases out of her wolf form and is quickly dressed before being left with her worried looking best friends instructed that under no circumstances should any of them set foot outside of the cabin. _

_ Several silent minutes pass before a great wailing is heard amongst their people and Alex peeks out of the window long enough to Kim's father, Mark with his head bowed deeply as he carries Alice's lifeless body into camp. _

Snapping out of the flashback that Alex knows is most definitely the worst day of her life, her attention is grabbed by a doe sprinting past her. An irritated growl escapes her lips as she wonders how foolish she could've been for not paying attention and allowing a meal to escape.

The deer has a pretty fair lead on her, but she's not worried as she knows that she can catch up to it in a heartbeat. Its hooves pound desperately against the ground as it makes it's one last attempt towards escape. Just as she is sure she is about to catch up to the doe, she hears a loud shriek followed by a great splash.

Scowling deeply, Alex redirects her course towards the direction in which she heard the shriek and she soon finds herself at the edge of the frozen lake. Staring out over the ice, she spots a single hole in the ice and her only deduction is that someone fell in.

Without thinking, she immediately steps out onto the lake, praying against the odds because if the ice couldn't support whoever fell in, then surely it couldn't support the weight of a full sized wolf, but she has to take her chances for the sake of whoever's underwater.

Coming to the hole, Alex's footing slightly falters and she takes a step back as the ice cracks beneath her feet. She scowls into the hole, scowling when she doesn't see anything. Immediately, she begins immediately looking elsewhere on the ice and her heart stops when she can make out the figure of a person trapped underneath the ice.

Once again, taking chance on the ice holding her weight, Alex uses her claws to create a weakened enough area to break the ice around the person in order to pull them to safety. Succeeding in pulling the unconscious woman from the hole, Alex manages to scoop her onto her back before carefully sliding her way off of the ice, just before more if it manages to crack under her footing.

* * *

><p>"You shouldn't have brought her here."<p>

"Is she dead?"

"No she's not dead. She fell in the lake, what was I supposed to do, let her die?"

"In a logical situation, yes."

"Kim!"

"What? It's true."

"Now you're just being heartless. I wasn't going to let her die under there."

"It's dangerous having her here."

"She is no danger to us, and I will watch her closely."

As Casey slowly opens her eyes, her body is involuntarily shaking as she slowly comes to the land of consciousness. She immediately begins taking in her surroundings and she finds herself lying on a carpeted floor wrapped in what feels like ten blankets while lying in front of a fireplace. Underneath all of that, how can she still be cold? That's when she remembers the lake.

The lake; she fell in didn't she? She remembers falling into the lake and drifting away from the hole. She remembers hitting her head on the bottom of the ice as she realizes she couldn't find the hole. That's the last thing she remembers before everything goes blank. But…if she passed out underneath the ice, who pulled her out? And where the hell is she?

"I think she's waiting up…" one of the three voices whispers quietly.

Unable to move her arms from blanket cocoon, Casey lifts her eyes to find two blondes and a brunette all watching her intently. She opens her mouth to speak, but she can't manage to get a word out as her teeth continue to chatter.

"Don't try to talk." The taller of the blonde's says, crouching down next to her and placing an abnormally warm hand to her forehead. "You're starting to get a bit of a fever but that's expected. Just try not to move too much and you'll warm up faster. Kim, go put on some herbal tea."

"I can't believe this, now I'm playing hospital orderly." Kim mutters, shaking her head as she stalks into the kitchen.

"I'll go get her another blanket." Serena states having taken note of the stranger's intense chills.

Alex nods and hums in agreement as she adds another log to the fire. "Just try to get some rest." She murmurs quietly, gently touching the redhead's forehead as she watches her eyes drift close from the exhaustion and possible onset of hypothermia. "You'll feel better in no time."

"**Anya" means mother in Hungarian. Don't know why I chose that particular language, I just thought the term Anya sounding really endearing. Anyhow, leave your thoughts! **


End file.
